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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"South Star" redirects here. For the American rapper, see Southstar. For other uses,
see Pole star (disambiguation).

Northern Hemisphere circumpolar stars around Polaris, with

a long-exposure producing a star trail photo
A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of
an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of
the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when viewed
from the North or the South Pole.

Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude 2
star aligned approximately with its northern axis that serves as a pre-eminent star
in celestial navigation, and a much dimmer magnitude 5.5 star on its southern
axis, Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis).

From around 1700 BC until just after 300 AD, Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris)
and Pherkad (Gamma Ursae Minoris) were twin northern pole stars, though neither
was as close to the pole as Polaris is now.

History[edit]
 A method to find the Pole star Polaris at 5x the

distance of the two front stars of the Big Dipper.

The path of the north celestial pole among the stars due to the effect of precession,

with dates shown The path of the south celestial

pole among the stars due to the effect of precession
In classical antiquity, Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) was closer to the celestial north
pole than Alpha Ursae Minoris. While there was no naked-eye star close to the pole,
the midpoint between Alpha and Beta Ursae Minoris was reasonably close to the
pole, and it appears that the entire constellation of Ursa Minor, in antiquity known
as Cynosura (Greek Κυνόσουρα "dog's tail"),[1] was used as indicating the northern
direction for the purposes of navigation by the Phoenicians.[2] The ancient name of
Ursa Minor, anglicized as cynosure, has since itself become a term for "guiding
principle" after the constellation's use in navigation.
Alpha Ursae Minoris (Polaris) was described as ἀειφανής (transliterated
as aeiphanes) meaning "always above the horizon", "ever-shining"[3] by Stobaeus in
the 5th century, when it was still removed from the celestial pole by about 8°. It was
known as scip-steorra ("ship-star") in 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, reflecting
its use in navigation. In the Vishnu Purana, it is personified under the
name Dhruva ("immovable, fixed").

The name stella polaris was coined in the Renaissance, even though at that time it
was well recognized that it was several degrees away from the celestial
pole; Gemma Frisius in the year 1547 determined this distance as 3°8'.[4] An explicit
identification of Mary as stella maris with the North Star (Polaris) becomes evident in
the title Cynosura seu Mariana Stella Polaris (i.e. "Cynosure, or the Marian Polar
Star"), a collection of Marian poetry published by Nicolaus Lucensis (Niccolo Barsotti
de Lucca) in 1655.

Precession of the equinoxes[edit]

Precession of Earth's rotational axis

In 2022 Polaris' mean declination was 89.35 degrees North;[citation needed] (at epoch
J2000 it was 89.26 degrees N). So it appears due north in the sky to a precision
better than one degree, and the angle it makes with respect to the true horizon (after
correcting for refraction and other factors) is within a degree of the latitude of the
observer. The celestial pole will be nearest Polaris in 2100.[5][6]

Due to the precession of the equinoxes (as well as the stars' proper motions), the
role of North Star has passed (and will pass) from one star to another in the remote
past (and in the remote future). In 3000 BC, the faint star Thuban in
the constellation Draco was the North Star, aligning within 0.1° distance from the
celestial pole, the closest of any of the visible pole stars.[7][8] However, at magnitude
3.67 (fourth magnitude) it is only one-fifth as bright as Polaris, and today it is invisible
in light-polluted urban skies.

During the 1st millennium BC, Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) was the bright star
closest to the celestial pole, but it was never close enough to be taken as marking
the pole, and the Greek navigator Pytheas in ca. 320 BC described the celestial pole
as devoid of stars.[5][9] In the Roman era, the celestial pole was about equally distant
between Polaris and Kochab.
The precession of the equinoxes takes about 25,770 years to complete a cycle.
Polaris' mean position (taking account of precession and proper motion) will reach a
maximum declination of +89°32'23", which translates to 1657" (or 0.4603°) from the
celestial north pole, in February 2102. Its maximum apparent declination (taking
account of nutation and aberration) will be +89°32'50.62", which is 1629" (or
0.4526°) from the celestial north pole, on 24 March 2100.[6]

Precession will next point the north celestial pole at stars in the northern
constellation Cepheus. The pole will drift to space equidistant between Polaris
and Gamma Cephei ("Errai") by 3000 AD, with Errai reaching its closest alignment
with the northern celestial pole around 4200 AD.[10][11] Iota Cephei and Beta
Cephei will stand on either side of the northern celestial pole some time around 5200
AD, before moving to closer alignment with the brighter star Alpha
Cephei ("Alderamin") around 7500 AD.[10][12]

Precession will then point the north celestial pole at stars in the northern
constellation Cygnus. Like Beta Ursae Minoris during the 1st millennium BC, the
bright star closest to the celestial pole in the 10th millennium AD, first-
magnitude Deneb, will be a distant 7° from the pole, never close enough to be taken
as marking the pole,[7] while third-magnitude Delta Cygni will be a more helpful pole
star, at a distance of 3° from celestial north, around 11,250 AD.[10] Precession will
then point the north celestial pole nearer the constellation Lyra, where the second
brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, Vega, will be a pole star around
14,500 AD, though at a distance of 5° from celestial north.[10]

Precession will eventually point the north celestial pole nearer the stars in the
constellation Hercules, pointing towards Tau Herculis around 18,400 AD.[13] The
celestial pole will then return to the stars in constellation Draco (Thuban, mentioned
above) before returning to the current constellation, Ursa Minor. When Polaris
becomes the North Star again around 27,800 AD, due to its proper motion it then will
be farther away from the pole than it is now, while in 23,600 BC it was closer to the
pole.[citation needed]

Over the course of Earth's 26,000-year axial precession cycle, a series of

bright naked eye stars (an apparent magnitude up to +6; a full moon is −12.9) in
the northern hemisphere will hold the transitory title of North Star.[10] While other stars
might line up with the north celestial pole during the 26,000 year cycle, they do not
necessarily meet the naked eye limit needed to serve as a useful indicator of north to
an Earth-based observer, resulting in periods of time during the cycle when there is
no clearly defined North Star. There will also be periods during the cycle when bright
stars give only an approximate guide to "north", as they may be greater than 5°
of angular diameter removed from direct alignment with the north celestial pole.[11]

The 26,000 year cycle of North Stars, starting with the current star, with stars that will
be "near-north" indicators when no North Star exists during the cycle, including each
star's average brightness and closest alignment to the north celestial pole during the
cycle:[5][6][7][8][10][11][12][13]
 Tradi- Constel- Align-
Bayer V notes
tional lation ment

Alpha Ursae Ursa

Polaris 1.98 within 0.5° the current North Star
Minoris Minor

Gamma will become the North Star

Errai 3.21 Cepheus within 3°
Cephei at about 3,100 AD

shares timing with Beta

Iota Cephei 3.51 Cepheus within 5°
Cephei

will become the North Star

Beta Cephei Alfirk 3.51 Cepheus within 5°
at about 5,900 AD

will become the North Star

Alpha Cephei Alderamin 2.51 Cepheus within 3°
at about 7,500 AD

will become the North Star

Alpha Cygni Deneb 1.25 Cygnus within 7°
at about 9,800 AD

will become the North Star

Delta Cygni Fawaris 2.87 Cygnus within 3°
at about 11,250 AD

used to be the North Star at

about 12,000 BC;
Alpha Lyrae Vega 0.026 Lyra within 5°
and will become the North
Star at 14,500 AD

used to be the North Star at

about 9,000 BC;
Iota Herculis 3.75 Hercules within 4°
and will become the North
Star at 15,000 AD

was the pole star in 7,400

BC,
Tau Herculis 3.89 Hercules within 1°
will be again around 18,400
AD

used to be the North Star at

Iota Draconis Edasich 3.29 Draco within 5°
about 4,420 BC

Alpha used to be the North Star at

Thuban 3.65 Draco within 0.1°
Draconis about 3,000 BC
 Tradi- Constel- Align-
Bayer V notes
tional lation ment

Kappa a near-north star, shares

3.82 Draco within 6°
Draconis timing with Kochab

Beta Ursae Ursa used to be the North Star at

Kochab 2.08 within 7°
Minoris Minor about 1,100 BC

Southern pole star (South Star)[edit]

Series of shots showing the rotation of the Earth's axis relative to the south celestial
pole. The Magellanic Clouds, Coalsack Nebula, and Southern Cross (next to the
Coalsack) are clearly visible. Near the end of the video, the rise of the Moon
illuminates the scene. (Argentina, 2014)
Currently, there is no South Pole Star like Polaris, the so-called North Star. Sigma
Octantis is the closest near naked-eye star to the south celestial pole, but
at apparent magnitude 5.47 it is barely visible on a clear night, making it less useful
for casual navigational or astronomy alignment purposes.[14][15] It is a yellow
giant 294 light years from Earth. Its angular separation from the pole is about 1° (as
of 2000). The Southern Cross constellation functions as an approximate southern
pole constellation, by pointing to where a southern pole star would be.

At the equator, it is possible to see both Polaris and the Southern Cross.[16][17] The
celestial south pole is moving toward the Southern Cross, which has pointed to the
south pole for the last 2000 years or so. As a consequence, the constellation is no
longer visible from subtropical northern latitudes, as it was in the time of the ancient
Greeks.[18]

Around 200 BC, the star Beta Hydri was the nearest bright star to the celestial south
pole.[19] Around 2800 BC, Achernar was only 8 degrees from the south pole.

Circle of southern stars, Chile, 2016

In the next 7500 years, the south celestial pole will pass close to the stars Gamma
Chamaeleontis (4200 AD), I Carinae, Omega Carinae (5800 AD), Upsilon
Carinae, Iota Carinae (Aspidiske, 8100 AD) and Delta Velorum (Alsephina, 9200
AD).[20] From the eightieth to the ninetieth centuries, the south celestial pole will travel
through the False Cross. Around 14,000 AD Canopus will have a declination of –82°,
meaning it will rise and set daily for latitudes between 8°S and 8°N, and will not rise
to viewers north of this latter 8th parallel north.[21]
Precession and proper motion mean that Sirius will be a future southern pole star: at
88.4° S declination in the year 66,270 AD; and 87.7° S declination in the year 93,830
AD.[22]

Other planets[edit]
Pole stars of other planets are defined analogously: they are stars (brighter than 6th
magnitude, i.e., visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions) that most closely
coincide with the projection of the planet's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere.
Different planets have different pole stars because their axes are oriented differently.
(See Poles of astronomical bodies.)

 Alpha Pictoris is the south pole star of Mercury while Omicron Draconis is
its north star.[23]
 42 Draconis is the closest star to the north pole of Venus. Eta1 Doradus is
the closest to the south pole. (Note: The IAU uses the right-hand rule to
define a positive pole for the purpose of determining orientation. Using this
convention, Venus is tilted 177° ("upside down").)[24]
 The lunar south pole star is Delta Doradus, and the north pole star[note
1]
Omicron Draconis.
 Kappa Velorum is only a couple of degrees from the south celestial pole
of Mars. The top two stars in the Northern Cross, Sadr and Deneb, point
to the north celestial pole of Mars.[25]
 The north pole of Jupiter is a little over two degrees away from Zeta
Draconis, while its south pole is about two degrees north of Delta
Doradus.
 Delta Octantis is the south pole star of Saturn. Its north pole is in the far
northern region of Cepheus, about six degrees from Polaris.
 Eta Ophiuchi is the north pole star of Uranus, and 15 Orionis is its south
pole star.
 The north pole of Neptune points to a spot midway
between Gamma and Delta Cygni. Its south pole star is Gamma Velorum.
In religion and mythology[edit]

The North Star pictured in the coat of arms of Utsjoki

In the medieval period, Polaris was also known as stella maris ("star of the sea",
from its use for navigation at sea), as in e.g. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (d. 1272), in
the translation of John Trevisa (1397):

by the place of this sterre place and stedes and boundes of the other sterres and of
cercles of heven ben knowen: therefore astronomers beholde mooste this sterre.
Then this ster is dyscryved of the moste shorte cercle; for he is ferre from the place
that we ben in; he hydeth the hugenesse of his quantite for unmevablenes of his
place, and he doth cerfifie men moste certenly, that beholde and take hede therof;
and therfore he is called stella maris, the sterre of the see, for he ledeth in the see
men that saylle and have shyppemannes crafte.[26]
Polaris was associated with Marian veneration from an early time, Our Lady, Star of
the Sea being a title of the Blessed Virgin. This tradition goes back to a misreading
of Saint Jerome's translation of Eusebius' Onomasticon, De nominibus
hebraicis (written ca. 390). Jerome gave stilla maris "drop of the sea" as a (false)
Hebrew etymology of the name Maria. This stilla maris was later misread as stella
maris; the misreading is also found in the manuscript tradition
of Isidore's Etymologiae (7th century);[27] it probably arises in the Carolingian era; a
late 9th-century manuscript of Jerome's text still has stilla, not stella,
[28]
but Paschasius Radbertus, also writing in the 9th century, makes an explicit
reference to the "Star of the Sea" metaphor, saying that Mary is the "Star of the Sea"
to be followed on the way to Christ, "lest we capsize amid the storm-tossed waves of
the sea."[29]

In Mandaean cosmology, the Pole Star is considered to be auspicious and is

associated with the World of Light ("heaven"). Mandaeans face north when praying,
and temples are also oriented towards the north. On the contrary, the south is
associated with the World of Darkness.[30]

See also[edit]
 Astronomy on Mars § Celestial poles and ecliptic
 Celestial equator
 Direction determination
 Empirical evidence for the spherical shape of Earth § Observation of
certain, fixed stars from different locations
 Guide star
 Lists of stars
 Worship of heavenly bodies
Notes[edit]
1. ^ Due to axial precession, the lunar pole describes a small circle on the
celestial sphere every 18.6 years. e.g. Moore, Patrick (1983), The Guinness
Book of Astronomy Facts & Feats, p. 29, In 1968 the north pole star of the
Moon was Omega Draconis; by 1977 it was 36 Draconis. The south pole star
is Delta Doradus.

References[edit]
1. ^ κυνόσουρα. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English
Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
2. ^ implied by Johannes Kepler (cynosurae septem stellas consideravit quibus
cursum navigationis dirigebant Phoenices): "Notae ad Scaligeri Diatribam de
Aequinoctiis" in Kepleri Opera Omnia ed. Ch. Frisch, vol. 8.1 (1870) p. 290
3. ^ ἀειφανής in Liddell and Scott.
4. ^ Gemmae Frisii de astrolabo catholico liber: quo latissime patentis
instrumenti multiplex usus explicatur, & quicquid uspiam rerum
mathematicarum tradi possit continetur, Steelsius (1556), p. 20
5. ^ Jump up to:a b c Ridpath, Ian (1988). "Chapter Three: The celestial eighty-
eight – Ursa Minor". Star Tales. Cambridge: The Lutterworth
Press. ISBN 978-0-7188-2695-6. ...in the early 16th century ... Polaris was
still around three and a half degrees from the celestial pole ...will reach its
closest to the north celestial pole around AD 2100, when the separation will
be less than half a degree
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c Jean Meeus, Mathematical Astronomy Morsels Ch. 50;
Willmann-Bell 1997
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c Ridpath, Ian, ed. (2004). Norton's Star Atlas. New York:
Pearson Education. p. 5. ISBN 0-13-145164-2. Around 4800 years ago
Thuban (α Draconis) lay a mere 0°.1 from the pole. Deneb (α Cygni) will be
the brightest star near the pole in about 8000 years' time, at a distance of 7°
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Moore, Patrick (2005). The Observer's Year: 366 Nights in
the Universe. p. 283.
9. ^ Kaler, James B., "KOCHAB (Beta Ursae Minoris)", Stars, University of
Illinois, retrieved 2018-04-28
10.^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Our Monthly, vol. 4, Presbyterian Magazine Company,
1871, p. 53.
11.^ Jump up to:a b c McClure, Bruce; Deborah, Byrd (2017-09-29). "Gamma
Cephei: A future Pole Star". EarthSky. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
12.^ Jump up to:a b Kaler, James B., "ALDERAMIN (Alpha
Cephei)", Stars, University of Illinois, retrieved 2018-04-28
13.^ Jump up to:a b Kaler, James B., "TAU HER (Tau
Herculis)", Stars, University of Illinois, retrieved 2018-04-27
14.^ "Sigma Octantis". Jumk.De. 6 August 2013.
15.^ "Is there a southern pole star". Cornell University.
16.^ "The North Star: Polaris". Space.com. May 7, 2012. Retrieved 6
August 2013.
17.^ Hobbs, Trace (May 21, 2013). "Night Sky Near the Equator". Wordpress.
Retrieved 6 August 2013.
18.^ Ridpath, Ian (2017). Stars & planets : the complete guide to the stars,
constellations, and the solar system. Wil Tirion, Ian Ridpath, Ian Ridpath
(Updated and expanded ed.). Princeton, N.J. ISBN 978-0-691-17788-
5. OCLC 1004676396.
19.^ "Beta Hydri".
20.^ "Precession". moonkmft.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
21.^ Kieron Taylor (1 March 1994). "Precession". Sheffield Astronomical
Society. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
22.^ Bruce McClure. "Sirius, future South Pole Star". EarthSky. Retrieved 2018-
01-03.
23.^ 2004. Starry Night Pro, Version 5.8.4. Imaginova. ISBN 978-0-07-333666-4.
www.starrynight.com
24.^ Archinal, Brent A.; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Bowell, Edward G.; Conrad, Albert
R.; Consolmagno, Guy J.; et al. (2010). "Report of the IAU Working Group
on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements:
2009" (PDF). Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. 109 (2): 101–
135. Bibcode:2011CeMDA.109..101A. doi:10.1007/s10569-010-9320-4. S2
CID 189842666. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
Retrieved 2018-09-06.
 25.^ Barlow, N. G. (2008). Mars: An introduction to its interior, surface and
atmosphere. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-85226-5.
26.^ cited after J. O. Halliwell, (ed.), The Works of William Shakespeare vol. 5
(1856), p. 40.]
27.^ Conversations-Lexicon Für Bildende Kunst vol. 7 (1857), 141f.
28.^ A. Maas,"The Name of Mary", The Catholic Encyclopedia (1912)
29.^ stella maris, sive illuminatrix Maria, inter fluctivagas undas pelagi, fide ac
moribus sequenda est, ne mergamur undis diluvii PL vol. 120, p. 94.
30.^ Bhayro, Siam (2020-02-10). "Cosmology in Mandaean Texts". Hellenistic
Astronomy. Brill. pp. 572–
579. doi:10.1163/9789004400566_046. ISBN 9789004243361. S2CID 2134
38712. Retrieved 2021-09-03.

External links[edit]

Look up pole star or Pole Star in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

 van Leeuwen, F. (2007). "HIP 11767". Hipparcos, the New Reduction.

Retrieved 2011-03-01.
 Star trails around Polaris
show

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